A DYING man had his wedding ring stolen from his finger while he lay in his hospital bed, his family claim.

A DYING man had his wedding ring stolen from his finger while he lay in his hospital bed, his family claim.

Patrick Hastings, 60, from Kirkdale, died in University Hospital Aintree after suffering a stroke.

But while he was in hospital his wedding ring finger swelled up and his family removed the ring and placed it on his other hand.

A few days before Mr Hastings passed away his daughter Joanne noticed that her dad's wedding ring had disappeared.

She said: "I couldn't believe it when I noticed it wasn't there.

"I reported it to hospital staff and they said they would investigate but nothing turned up. Wedding rings do not just disappear, if it had slipped off surely it would have turned up somewhere by now."

On October 31 Mr Hastings died and his family were forced to bury their father without his treasured wedding ring.

Joanne said: "Now we are just hoping that somebody might have been offered it or might know where it is."

The ring is described as gold with a distinctive line pattern around the outside.

A spokeswoman for University Hospital Aintree said the disappearance was now the subject of an investigation.

"The Trust can confirm that Mr Hastings' ring was lost whilst he was a patient at University Hospital Aintree. His hand had been swollen and it was felt necessary to remove his ring which was done in the presence of his family who were advised to take it home for safe keeping.

"In the event they elected to place the ring on a finger on his other hand. Unfortunately Mr Hastings' ring was subsequently discovered to be missing and despite a thorough search it has not been found."